West Texas vote could make Astrodome an 'antiquity'

Kiah Collie, Houston Chronicle

By Kiah Collier

Updated 12:36 pm, Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The Astrodome and NRG Stadium are seen in an aerial view on Monday, Jan. 20, 2014. Recently released plans provided a detailed look at the proposal to demolish the historic structure.
Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

The Astrodome and NRG Stadium are seen in an aerial view on Monday,...

Gensler's site plan, prepared for the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, proposes turning the Astrodome into "Reliant's back yard."
Photo: Renderings Courtesy Of Gensler

Gensler's site plan, prepared for the Houston Texans and the...

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Houston Texans have devised a $66 million plan to demolish the Astrodome and turn the site into an outdoor green space. (Above: a slide from Gensler's site plan.)

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Houston Texans have...

From Gensler's site plan, which sites Discovery Green as a model "programmed urban park" and "regional attraction." The Dome site would be slightly smaller than Discovery Green.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

From Gensler's site plan, which sites Discovery Green as a model...

The Dome's ribs -- or facsimiles of them -- would form a sort of Astrodome fence. (Above, we believe: The current Dome, ribs outlined in blue.) The giant hole in the ground left by the Dome's removal would be filled and covered largely with grass.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

The Dome's ribs -- or facsimiles of them -- would form a sort of...

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans have devised a $66 million plan to demolish the vacant Astrodome and turn the site into an outdoor green space that is reminiscent of downtown’s Discovery Green and also pays tribute to the historic stadium. Read full details of the plan in the documents below.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans...

A place to watch New Year's fireworks.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

A place to watch New Year's fireworks.

A cool-looking spot for announcers?
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

A cool-looking spot for announcers?

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans have devised a $66 million plan to demolish the vacant Astrodome and turn the site into an outdoor green space that is reminiscent of downtown’s Discovery Green and also pays tribute to the historic stadium. Read full details of the plan in the documents below.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans...

Kitted out as a space for outdoor concerts.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

Kitted out as a space for outdoor concerts.

As "Dome Green" -- presumably, that's a salute to Discovery Green, which is cited as a model.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

As "Dome Green" -- presumably, that's a salute to Discovery Green,...

During the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Photo: 20628, Gensler Architects

Despite requests from Harris County officials to postpone the vote, or cast it at a meeting held much closer to Houston, the Texas Historical Commission is set to decide on Wednesday at a meeting in far West Texas whether to designate the iconic Astrodome a so-called "state antiquities landmark."

The designation would not outright save the former Eighth Wonder of the World from demolition, but would make it much harder as the county would have to get permission from the state before tearing it down or making any other substantial changes to the long-vacant stadium's exterior. In fact, the county already would have to do so because the application is currently under consideration.

The application was submitted by two private citizens, Ted Powell and Cynthia Neely, who is in Alpine today for the meeting.

"We filed the applications and paid the fees and expenses ourselves. Just the two of us," Neely wrote in an email. "Now we have gotten it to this point and it will happen sometime after 1:00 on Wednesday. We are proud of ourselves!"

Powell, a retired chemical engineer, is known for leading a successful effort to save the Sylvan Beach Pavilion in La Porte when the county was considering demolition.

In a speech earlier this month, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said "the rumor" was that the commission would table the vote on the application indefinitely, which would have the same effect as designation because the county would have to get approval from the state as long as the application is under consideration.

Emmett and other members of Commissioners Court, which will have the final say on what happens to the Dome, as well as the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, asked the commission to postpone the hearing and hold one in Houston so that more people could attend and weigh in. The county's top elected official is not attending the meeting, but sent his chief of staff.

The Rodeo and the NFL's Texans devised a $66 million plan obtained earlier this month by the Houston Chronicle to demolish the structure and turn the nearly 9-acre site into a massive outdoor space similar to downtown's Discovery Green.

Officials from local preservation groups, including Preservation Houston, are at the meeting. The group circulated a petition this week asking for signatures in support of the initiative.

The commission is expected to begin taking public comment on the application at about 1 p.m., and make a decision later in the afternoon.